Chapter 10
December 1977 finally got here.
In a blink of an eye the Winter break was upon them and Hermione felt the need to say goodbye to all her professors individually, she also took her time to pick a present for all her friends during one of the winter Hogsmeade trips.
She was feeling a bit sad leaving Hogwarts this time as she knew it would be her final goodbye and the last time seeing all these people. If everything went right that is.
Regulus was invited to a winter ball at the Malfoy Manor that was happening in four days. She certainly did not look forward to jumping in the ice-cold water. Hermione was walking back from the lake with Regulus. They went to place a port key near Regulus's favourite tree as they would have to return in a few days, and they couldn't just apparate onto the Hogwarts' grounds.
They did inform Dumbledore of this, since he was involved in getting Hermione back home. The headmaster, if they were successful, was to announce Hermione's death during the welcome feast in the second term, along with the other names who fallen due to the death eater attacks. They were now rushing back as the train was leaving in half an hour.
The train journey was peaceful. Hermione sat in a compartment with Jane, Elora, Emily and Brennan whom she got quite close to over the years. It was difficult leaving them, and leaving this time. She had been here for over two and a half a year. That was nearly as long as she had been at Hogwarts in her own time.
Her 4th, 5th and the first term of the 6th year were the best years of her life. And now she had to leave her friends, her family, Regulus, and return to her own time.
She couldn't imagine leaving and never seeing Regulus again and she wished she could stay but, she didn't belong here. Besides the times were getting even more dangerous, more and more people were dying and if Hermione were to die here in the past, she would have no chance of saving Regulus and getting rid of the blasted curse that was weighting on her family.
Besides she did miss her family and friends in her own time. She missed Klaus, Harry, Ron, even Draco her loyal enemy. She could only sigh thinking that her chance of returning home rested on his shoulders and his willingness to save her from the lake after she had shamelessly splashed the water in his face.
Regulus however did his best to not think about the fact he wasn't going to see her ever again. Hermione was going home; it was finally happening.
After getting off the train and returning home, all he did was go over their plan in his head. It was her only chance and he couldn't let her down. He played with the fake ring he would have to replace the original with.
Finally, the day came and Regulus could not believe he didn't even have to do anything because by the midnight, Lucius Malfoy got himself so drunk that Regulus was tasked with taking his cousin's husband, whom she married the previous year, upstairs to the bedroom so he could sober up.
That was when Regulus swapped the rings. The party soon ended as Regulus was the only man present who was sober. He was grateful he could use his young age to politely decline any alcoholic drinks offered to him. His parents never noticed when instead of going to his bedroom after they had returned from the party, he left the house to go to Hermione.
The object of his affections was already waiting for him. Regulus wanted to do this fast, the sooner he returned the right the better. Also, he feared if they dragged it out, he would not let her go.
"Ready?" He asked and she nodded before they apparated with the port key and landed right under the tree where they placed the corresponding port key few days before.
"I can't believe this is finally happening" He heard her say as they stood on the platform. His own heart was beating fast. They placed a warming charm on part of the lake and were now waiting for the ice on the surface of the water to melt.
"Neither can I." He smiled sadly. "Don't forget about me when you go back" He smirked slightly.
"I couldn't forget you if I tried" She sniggered and turned to face him. "I will miss you very much Regulus. Stay safe for me okay?" He saw her eyes fill with tears and he had to take a deep breath to stop his eyes from watering.
Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful.
Teardrops began to roll out of his eyes. He pulled her in for the most passionate and saddest kiss they ever shared that turned into an embrace. Regulus held her in his arms feeling he never wanted to let her go as she was hugging him just as tightly.
Why were goodbyes so hard?
"I will miss you every day" He heard himself say.
They stood like that for a few minutes until finally letting go.
"I guess that's it then" She smiled through her tears.
"Have you got everything?"
She put the time tuner around her neck and slid the Malfoy ring on her finger. Regulus cast the warming spells on her. The ice finally melted and it was time for her to go. Hermione turned to jump but she hesitated and turned around. She ran up to him placing a kiss on his lips.
"I love you"
"I love you too"
She jumped in.
She fell in!
"Granger! Granger!" He kept on shouting but he only saw her form drift further away from his line of vision. Draco quickly looked around. It was just him, there was no one else nearby.
Bloody hell she just had to slip and fall the clumsy mudblood…
She was going to owe him big for this one the nasty cow… Trust her to go and drown. If she died it would be his fault. Stupid Granger! He hated her guts.
Draco cursed her and he jumped in.
He lost the sight of her for a minute but was able to catch up to her sinking form and grab her. He held her tight and pulled them both up to the surface with a wave of his wand. The minute their heads emerged from the water, Hermione began to cough up water.
"Granger are you alright?" He said annoyed as he still had his arms around her to keep her afloat. She looked at his face and some odd emotions showed on her face. To Draco's dread those emotions quickly transformed into a big smile as she threw her arms around his neck, catching him totally off guard.
"Draco you jumped in after me! I knew you had a heart!" She exclaimed looking at him with adoration and gratitude. Maybe the water flooded her brain?
"I have never been this happy to see your ugly face Malfoy" She said as they made their way out of the lake. He did just save her life but her behaviour was still quite baffling, Draco thought.
They dried themselves and Draco suggested they go back now. He was weirded out by her even further when she announced she wanted to stay and look at the lake for a bit more, but he was free to go.
Draco blinked in disbelief.
Who wants to stay and look at the lake after nearly drowning in it?
She was crazy before but she's gone utterly barmy from that water, he shook his head and went his way.
As soon as he was out of sight, Hermione ran onto the platform and kneeled down. She took the ring off and attached it to the time tuner. Bending down and holding them under the water, she placed both in an air bubble she then enchanted to go in the direction of the reef.
She had it on an invisible leash connected to her wand but when she felt she lost the connection, she decided the objects must have gone back to Regulus now and she left for the castle. She was gone for two and a half years. There was a lot to do…
Returning home felt strange in every sense of the word.
Walking into a cold and empty mansion wasn't ideal with the memories of the past still fresh in her mind. She missed her parents and uncle and aunt. Their presence made this house a house. It was like the brightness and warmth died with them. Now you could only feel sadness and absence in the air.
Kiwi took Hermione's luggage up to her rooms. Hermione asked another elf to apparate with her to the 12 Grimmauld Place.
She stood on the opposite side of the street looking at the spot where the house was hidden. Hermione wondered if the wards would still her through but she didn't dare to go in. It has been 19 years. Was Regulus really dead? Were Orion and Walburga still around?
She wished she could contact Sirius and ask him about his family, but after they broke him out he left not saying where he's going. She would have to find out about the Noble House of Black in some other way. Hermione sighted and apparated back home.
She made it right back for the dinner.
"I time travelled into the past and was gone for two and a half years" She said suddenly, making everyone stop eating their food.
"That's pretty awesome cousin" Klaus grinned at her in his half-drunk state. "Take me with you next time you go"
"How far did you go?" Claudius asked ignoring his grandson.
"I landed in June 1975 and came back in December 1977. In this time, I went and came back yesterday afternoon. But do you not remember? I was staying with you"
"I remember" Her mother provided. "It's strange, I completely forgot, but now that you mention it… You used to bring that charming boy around with you, what was his name?" she asked herself trying to attach the name to the blurry face in her memories...
"Regulus Black" Great aunt Amelia drawled, cutting up her potatoes. "He stopped coming after you left. He came back once but I cannot recall what for."
"He came to see me" Claudius revealed looking at his granddaughter. Hermione was a little overwhelmed, for some reason she didn't think they would remember. "He brought here a bunch of things for safe keeping. I allowed him to store it in one of our dungeons but I have no idea where he put it. I went to look for it once out of curiosity but I never found it."
After the dinner, Hermione told Claudius and Amelia in detail about things she didn't reveal to them in the past. She also told them about how she learned of Regulus's death and how in an effort to prevent it, she tied their souls together.
Claudius was more than satisfied to find out Hermione finally stopped resisting the affinity for the dark magic that ran in their family. Amelia however, being the talented seer that she was, offered her expertise on the matter. She told her that the predictions she encountered didn't necessarily mean Regulus would die. She told her those things are usually unclear and the answers with come with time. But Hermione couldn't wait for the answers.
Hermione spent her entire summer looking for the stuff Regulus hid in the dungeons and studying the endless content of the Greenfell family library.
Like her grandfather, she never found anything.
Hermione had to choose carefully what to read as it would take her more than one life time to read though every single book. Out of everything he had the honour of inheriting, Claudius was the proudest of the various magic book collections. There was an entire section of the books that were once in Morgana's private possession. But Hermione wasn't ready for that level of dark yet. She still found herself flinch and wince at some of the atrocities and barbarities she came across in the much more recent books she was looking through.
Seeing that her task was proving to be much more difficult that she thought, she got even more determined and often sacrificed nights of sleep for the sake of finding something she could use.
Anything on how to bring the dead back when the soul was still alive. It was much more complex than simply raising the dead. The furthest she got was a very complicated and risky ancient ritual that needed the body of the one who she was trying to resurrect. But where would she get the body from? She wasn't even sure Regulus was dead, and even if he was, she couldn't imagine having to dig up his grave, if she could even locate it.
At the end of the summer she came across a mention of a powerful spell that would restore the soul to the body she could herself re-create with Regulus's blood she had left still. The body would however be deformed. Hermione groaned. The ancient priestesses of the old magic who created these spells and rituals clearly didn't pay attention to the looks. Although she supposed they were powerful enough to shape shift and conceal their real crooked form, twisted from the dark magic, in the favour of something more pleasant to the eye.
Hermione would have to find some beauty enchantments first as she couldn't imagine Regulus's notable pride in his good looks, survive such horror. She was however disappointed when she hit a dead end, not being able to locate the book with the mentioned spell. Tired of her mission she closed the book she was reading and left the library.
Hermione went to the muggle London. She visited all the spots she went to with Regulus.
She smiled remembering his awkward first steps in the muggle world.
The first time she took him to the pub he refused to go in for over an hour. And when he finally went in, he was all jumpy and looked ready to run out of there. He even refused to drink or eat anything. The second time they went, he watched everyone with suspicion in his eyes and looked ready to respond to any attack that came his way, of course it never did but Regulus was ready.
Hermione was glad to see some progress as his disgust of muggles turned more into mistrust as he now checked his drinks for any poisons but drank them. As they kept going there, slowly but gradually he began to reply to the old Scottish barman that greeted him with a big grin on his face every time he saw the 'guid-lookin' laddiekie aboot saxteen years auld, dressed like a common ghillie' enter his pub. Usually, the encounter began with the barman saying hello and ended with Regulus being thrown off his balance.
"Awright ya wee bawbag?" Ailbert greeted Regulus, giving out a low chuckle. Hermione couldn't suppress her smile at the barman and very confused looking Regulus as they sat down.
"What did he just say to me?" He asked her looking puzzled. Hemione only smiled.
The last time they went to that pub Regulus looked much more comfortable and at ease, even exchanging a few sentences and a laugh with the barman who was so found of him. Hermione couldn't have been any prouder.
It hasn't been easy for Regulus. She took him to many places. Even a club. He was sceptical at first and sneered at the idea of dancing in such beastly manor with dirty muggles in such close proximity to him but he finally gave in and they both had great fun.
Hermione once forced him to go shopping for clothes with her and that was a real nightmare for both of them, but at the end of it they got matching t-shirts they wore during that summer. To her surprise he became quite attached to a pair of yellow corduroy trousers that ended with wide leg, and a colourful soft jumper he was given by Hermione's mum for his 15th birthday.
She was certain he put some charms on them to keep them in pristine condition. He wore them often.
The bakery became their personal spot, because Regulus became a fan of muggle cakes and biscuits, and she knew he liked them despite his denial. Hermione walked by a cinema that was long closed now. She smiled sadly thinking of the time they came here together with her parents and her aunt and uncle.
She couldn't bear the thought that she would never see them like that again. She would most likely never see Regulus again. Her eyes filled with tears, and she went home. She had to prepare for going to Wesleys for the last few days of the summer, before returning to Hogwarts.
"Hermione dear! How lovely to see you! Come in come in, Ron and Harry are still upstairs!" Mrs. Weasley opened the door with the widest smile. Hermione sometimes wondered if she would still smile at her like that if she knew about Hermione's family.
To wizards like Weasleys, druids were just as bad if not worse than death eaters.
Either way, she was glad to see the older witch.
Hermione greeted Mr. Weasley and the rest of the household before making her way upstairs to wake the two lazy boys she missed dearly when she was stuck 19 years in the past. For them it was barely two months but Hermione hasn't seen them for two and a half years. After she returned to her time, she barely saw them on the train as they ended up in different compartments.
She knocked on the door to Ron's room, where both boys usually stayed when Harry was staying over. Hermione got no reply so she slowly opened the door and walked in.
As expected, they were still asleep. Harry looked like he was having a nightmare, which reminded her of Regulus. Hermione dismissed her thoughts and went to wake her friend up.
"Harry... Harry!" She shook him a little.
"Harry, are you okay?" She asked seeing him look frantic, taking deep breaths and all covered in sweat.
"Hermione? Oh, just a bad dream." He said after finding and putting his glasses on. "When did you get here?"
"Not long ago, what about you?" She asked moving to wake the other one.
"Last night" Harry replied still looking a bit out of it. The dream must have been pretty bad to shake him up this much.
"Ron! Wake up! Wake up!" She
"Wha… what it is?" He opened his eyes still half asleep. It was still very early.
"Get up and get dressed. And hurry! Your mum is waiting with breakfast for the two of you, everyone else is already awake and ready to go. We must leave before the sunrise" She scolded them and left the room.
It felt good to be back.
Staying at the Weasleys was pleasant, their messy house beamed him warmth and happiness unlike her own, which was always clean, empty and cold. Maybe it's size was the problem? She wondered.
The Burrow made her feel less lonely and gave her a chance to finally talk to Ron and Harry again. She was curious about whether Harry had a chance to contact Sirius over the summer, but he said he didn't. Not with his family monitoring his every move, and using him to do all the chores around the house. It got a bit better after he ran away last summer but he wished he could stay with his godfather instead.
Meeting Sirius' younger self made Hermione feel more sympathetic to the older wizard and she hoped he was doing okay, wherever he was.
Attending Quidditch World Cup was certainly less pleasant for Hermione. She didn't really like the sport, especially now that it reminded her of Regulus who played as a Seeker for the Slytherin team in the past.
They barely made it there before the portkey closed thanks to Harry and Ron having problems with getting up early. After getting comfortable in their tent, they all made their way to the stadium.
Harry and Ron were too busy discussing the tactics of the teams playing and the others were passionately watching the game.
Hermione found herself look at her wrist watch, patiently waiting for the end of the event. She was glad to see them again, and greatful she was able to spend time with them again. Back in the past she wondered many time whether she would get a chance to do so.
Just as they got back inside their tent at the campsite, a group of masked wizards attacked.
When running away from the riot, Hermione, Ron and Harry ran into Draco. Hermione ended up on the ground tripping over Ron who tripped on a tree branch.
"Granger, they're after Muggles. Do you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around... they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh." Draco exclaimed with a smirk on his lips. Trust that clown to find humour in a situation as dangerous as this one. Nevertheless, it was good to see him again after summer. She was still grateful he had the guts to jump into the lake after her. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be able to return.
"Hermione's a witch." She heard Harry reply in her defence.
"Have it your own way, Potter... If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are." The blonde sneered. He was being nasty as usual but Hermione knew he was only concerned for her. If she died, he would have no one to argue with.
"You know who they are?" She asked getting up from the ground but then they noticed a colossal skull in the sky, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue.
Death Eaters…
But what were they doing here? Voldemort was dead… Did she accidentally change something?
"You better stay alive, Granger. I didn't save you from drowning so you could get yourself killed now" Draco said to her quietly when Harry and Ron were out of the earshot.
"You do care" She smirked, making him sneer at her.
"Shut up and hurry" he hissed.
As they were making their way to the nearest portkey, Hermione used the earliest opportunity to 'get lost' and went to look for any signs of Regulus, hoping to see that he was still alive but when she found nothing, not wanting to be caught she quickly returned to her friends.